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Tennis Rubric
According to Lund & Kirk (2002, p.41), rubrics
attempt to inform students about standards of excellence before learning begins and then encourage achievement of them to
demonstrate mastery of content. Overall, a rubric is defined as the criteria
used for judging student performance. Below is a copy of my original rubric. The criteria is very specific, therefore the students know exactly what I am looking
for. I chose to grade the students based upon the three basic skills in tennis: forehand stroke, backhand stroke, and the serve.
The rubric is also very easy for students to see where they need to improve. I
showed the students a copy of the rubric prior to the testing. I revised my original
rubric after reviewing constructive criticism from my colleagues.
Tennis Performance Assessment Rubric (original)
10th grade
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0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
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Forehand
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-No effort |
-uses proper grip
-uses the correct
side of the racket
-feet remain stationary
-able to hit the
ball toward a target 3 out of 10 times |
-moves to meet the
ball after the bounce
-steps into the
shot
-racket is too open
(ball will go out of bounds)
-racket is too closed
(ball will hit the net)
-able to hit the
ball toward a target 5 out of 10 times |
-racket is parallel
to the ground
-arm is bent in
the elbow
-follow through
above the opposite shoulder
-able to hit the
ball toward a target (partner) 8 out of 10 times
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Backhand
|
-No effort |
-uses proper grip
-uses the correct
side of the racket
-feet remain stationary
-able to hit the
ball toward a target 3 out of 10 times |
-moves to meet the
ball after the bounce
-steps into the
shot
-racket is too open
-racket is too closed
-follow through
over shoulder
-able to hit the
ball toward a target 5 out of 10 times |
-racket is parallel
to the ground
-stance is sideways
to the target
-follow through
above the opposite shoulder
-able to vary speed
-able to hit the
ball toward a target (partner) 8 out of 10 times |
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Serve
(Serve continued) |
-No effort |
-uses proper grip
-able to get the
ball over the net
-steps over the
serving line
-able to serve the
ball into the correct box 2 out of 10 times
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-able to place the
ball in the front half of the court
-toss is proper
height
-does not cross
serving line
-singles: stance
is close to the middle line
-doubles: stance
is in the middle of the serving side
-able to serve the
ball into the correct box 5 out of 10 times |
-able to place the
ball into the correct box
-able to vary speed
or depth
-able to strategically
place the ball
-able to hit the
ball into the correct box 8 out of 10 times |
I decided to make several changes to my original
rubric and how it was presented. Before I began the testing I gave the students
a copy of the rubric. They were able to take the rubric home and carefully observe
the criteria. The next day I began the testing.
Instead of the students lined up one by one, I walked around and filled out their rubrics based upon authentic assessment. Basically, I observed each student during warm-ups, game play and free play. After the completion of each student’s rubric, I handed back their results. If the students wanted to improve their grade, they were able to receive a second
chance. The second chance was observed the same as the first, through authentic
assessment. This was able to alleviate tension because everyone stumbles upon
a bad day and should be granted a second chance. In the revised rubric I included
a fourth category, game play. I included game play because one can be the best
player in the class, but if they do not know the rules or do not demonstrate proper sportsmanship skills, they should not
receive an A. Tennis is not only about the skills involved, rather tennis involves
strategies, cooperation, sportsmanship, and knowledge of the game. In the revised
rubric I erased the section involving hitting a target. I erased it for two main
reasons: 1) one can master the skill but not hit the targets and vise versa,
one can hit the targets yet not have mastered the skill. I would rather have
the students focus on the skill not the targets. 2) when I authentically assess
the students, they are not going to have targets out during the middle of a game.
Tennis Performance Assessment Rubric (revised)
10th grade
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|
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
Forehand
|
-No effort |
-uses proper grip
-uses the correct
side of the racket
-feet remain stationary
|
-moves to meet the
ball after the bounce
-steps into the
shot
-racket is too open
(ball will go out of bounds)
-racket is too closed
(ball will hit the net) |
-racket is parallel
to the ground
-arm is bent in
the elbow
-follow through
above the opposite shoulder
|
|
Backhand
|
-No effort |
-uses proper grip
-uses the correct
side of the racket
-feet remain stationary
|
-moves to meet the
ball after the bounce
-steps into the
shot
-racket is too open
-racket is too closed
-follow through
over shoulder |
-racket is parallel
to the ground
-stance is sideways
to the target
-follow through
above the opposite shoulder
-able to vary speed
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|
Serve
|
-No effort |
-uses proper grip
-able to get the
ball over the net
-steps over the
serving line
-able to serve the
ball into the correct box 2 out of 10 times
|
-able to place the
ball in the front half of the court
-toss is proper
height
-does not cross
serving line
-singles: stance
is close to the middle line
-doubles: stance
is in the middle of the serving side
-able to serve the
ball into the correct box 5 out of 10 times |
-able to place the
ball into the correct box
-able to vary speed
or depth
-able to strategically
place the ball
-able to serve the
ball into the correct box 7 out of 10 times
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Game Play |
-No effort |
-has little knowledge
of the rules
-demonstrates acceptable
sportsmanship (says good luck to opponent before the game, does not use foul language) |
-has some knowledge
of the rules
-demonstrates good
sportsmanship (shakes hand opponents hand before the game, does not boast when a point is scored) |
-has knowledge of
a majority of the rules
-demonstrates excellent
sportsmanship (shake opponents hand before and after the game, calls the shots in and out honestly, recognizes good performance
from partner (doubles) and opponent). |
While using the revised rubric I found that the students actually enjoyed the process of the testing. The students knew ahead of time what I was looking for and what skills I would be focusing on. Most of the students had fun with the assessment because they continued game play as usual and they knew
that they had the opportunity for a second chance if needed. It was a very relaxed
testing because the students were not doing anything out of the ordinary (as opposed to lining up one by one to grade their
ground strokes). The revised rubric provided me with adequate information for
grading and provided specific feedback to the students on how to improve performance.
Overall, I learned that the same rubric does not work year after year. It
is important for me to continually revise the rubrics based upon my observations, student feedback, and colleague feedback. As my colleague Ted pointed out, if we get stuck in old
ways we never improve or make the class more fun to be involved in. It is our
job to strike that spark to make children want to be physically active. Rubrics
can allow us to light the spark by making grading fun and rewarding.
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